The Venice Biennale, founded in 1895, owns its name to the International Exposition of Art that was held every two years in the Castello Gardens.

The Biennale is La Biennale di Venezia as prestigious as the city which is its home. A special non profit-making foundation open to contributions from the private sector, it enjoys the support and backing of the Italian government and parliament, who have defined it by law as an organisation of national importance.

The Biennale is visual arts, music, dance, architecture, cinema and theatre. It produces exhibitions and research projects in all these various disciplines, sometimes working in collaboration with other institutions and bodies. Inspired by the principles of freedom and open-mindedness behind artistic research, it also aims to promote the general public knowledge of the contemporary arts through such permanent projects as workshops and studio activities. The documentation of its main activities is contained in its own Contemporary Arts Archive---a key point of reference for the study and promotion of contemporary art.